In Firefox 3.6.4, Mozilla has included protections to keep crashes caused by third-party plug-ins from disrupting the user's browsing experience. Right now, this feature is only available for Windows and Linux users.
Mozilla's
Firefox
security update June 22 brought more than just a bevy of patches for the
Web browser. It also brought new protections against crashes caused by
plug-ins.
In Firefox 3.6.4 for Windows and Linux, if a plug-in crashes or freezes, the
browser will continue running while portions of the Websites controlled by the
plug-in will be disabled.
"Results from our beta testing show Firefox 3.6.4 will significantly
reduce the number of Firefox crashes experienced by users who are watching
online videos or playing games,"
blogged
Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox. "When a plug-in crashes or freezes
while using Firefox, users can enjoy uninterrupted browsing by simply
refreshing the page."
According to Mozilla, as many as one in three Firefox browser crashes are
caused by problems with various third-party plug-ins. There are plans to make
the feature available for Mac OS X users in Firefox 4. The feature will not be
made available for Firefox 3.5 or older versions.
In May, Mozilla
updated
its Plugin Check page to add support for other browsers, including Google
Chrome and Apple Safari. The page allows users to check to see if they are
running the most current and secure versions of the plug-ins they are using.
"Mozilla recognizes that third-party plug-ins provide important functionality
in many of today's Websites," Beltzner said. "At the same time, plug-ins
can lead to problems for users as they browse. With the ability to
automatically alert users when they have out-of-date plug-ins, and now
crash protection, Firefox 3.6.4 allows users to experience all the content they
love without any of the hassles."
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